Do No Harm Review

Author: Robert Pobi

Series: Lucas Page #3

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Release Date: Aug. 9, 2022

Order Link: Amazon

Many thanks to Minotaur Books for an arc of this book.

Review:

While recovering from his latest impressive set of injuries, Lucas Page is hopeful his days of assisting the FBI in tracking down serial killers is just about over.  Lucas is an ex-FBI agent himself and plans on keeping it that way.  However, his extraordinary gift in pattern recognition has proved useful in seeing what others miss.  He's often called to crime scenes to detect what's eluded officers.  Lucas, a polymath, astrophysicist and professor is looking forward to normal life with his five adopted kids and wife Erin who's a respected surgeon.  Things are finally peaceful until the couple attends a medical charity bash, and Page begins watching the annual memorial video documenting the high number of doctors who have died in the past year . . . many in so called accidents or by suicide.  How is it no one else has noticed that these "random" deaths are missing a key element?  Where's the pattern?  And just like that, Page is called back in by the FBI to assist in a race against time.

It soon becomes clear that someone is targeting members of the medical community which puts Page's wife Erin in the eye of the killer.  Page doubles his efforts and once again is joined by his old partner, Special Agent Alice Whitaker who's also recovering from injuries.  They quickly fall back into their pattern of life threatening escapades with dry banter mingled in, offering some comic relief to a fast-paced, drive the wheels off it investigation.  Their team is rounded out by ex-military NYPD Detective Johnny Russo who turns a blind eye to Page's decidedly cold and ungiving personality.  Together, they forge all speed ahead to catch a killer before anyone else is murdered.

Dark, twisted and complex, No Harm Done is a tense, action-packed ride from cover to cover.  I enjoyed more insight into Page's family life with kid time which served to soften the edges of his stoic personality.  And as always, I was fascinated by this character's study of patterns where there seemingly is none.  Readers get to see the crime scenes through Page's eyes as one thing after another clicks into place emerging as a pattern.  Expertly plotted and delivered, No Harm Done is a great addition to the Lucas Page series.  This one stands alone, but readers will benefit from grabbing the first two books to get the full introduction to the man and his fellow characters.  Highly recommended to fans of mysteries, police procedurals and suspense thrillers.

Synopsis:

Lucas Page is a polymath, astrophysicist, professor, husband, father of five adopted children, bestselling author, and ex-FBI agent―emphasis on "ex." Severely wounded after being caught in an explosion, Page left the FBI behind and put his focus on the rebuilding the rest of his life. But Page is uniquely gifted in being able to recognize patterns that elude others, a skill that brings the F.B.I. knocking at his door again and again.

Lucas Page's wife Erin loses a friend, a gifted plastic surgeon, to suicide and Lucas begins to realize how many people Erin knew that have died in the past year, in freak accidents and now suicide. Intrigued despite himself, Page begins digging through obituaries and realizes that there's a pattern―a bad one. These deaths don't make sense unless the doctors are being murdered, the target of a particularly clever killer. This time, the FBI wants as little to do with Lucas as he does with them so he's left with only one option―ignore it and go back to his normal life. But then, the pattern reveals that the next victim is likely to be...Erin herself.